While in theory the notion of Quality might appear rather philosophical and idealistic, in practice it could not be more pragmatic. One can think of Quality as simply the highest -leverage input into a system. F or illustrative purposes we could envision a continuum of layers starting with a company’s high -level outputs: financial figures and key ... See more

I mentioned that implicit conviction “comes from something deeper than the cause and effect we perceive in the unfolding of events.” What exactly is this deeper -something? My first attempt to answer this question happened spontaneously, over a decade ago: “Some companies have a soul,” I found myself saying to a friend over lunch, “others are just ... See more

There are the two convictions: one that focuses on the numbers and one that feels.

Interestingly, I also find that experiencing Quality i n any one domain (e.g., music or meditation, to use examples that are dear to me) can be helpful for recognizing it in other domains (including business) because Quality’s nature is universal, even as its manifestations are necessarily particular.

Quality emerges from the complexity of the system in action ; it is in the how rather than the what. Thus, when Quality is broken down into parts and analyzed, its essence is lost. This explains why analysis alone has trouble discerning the authentic from the artific ial. Moreover, Quality frozen in a theory or process cannot be recognized in suffi... See more